A Proper Goodbye
by padfoot's prose
Summary: Set at the end of 'TOW Rachel's Going Away Party'. "At that moment, they were right back at the beginning. Back to being two people who were in love, and always had been. It was like they had always been Ross and Rachel, together." RossRachel oneshot.


**I know I've posted this about 5 years too late for it to be popular, but I came up with it after watching the end of season 6 where Emma is born, and I kept yelling at Ross and Rachel to just get back together already but, as usual, they didn't listen. I've been thinking about writing a Friends fic for ages, but haven't had the confidence to do it, and even now I'm not exceedingly happy with how this turend out. Although, as I am in dire need of some Ross/Rachel fluff and seems to have very little available, I thought that as questionable as this contribution is, it's a contribution nonetheless.**

**Disclaimer: Friends belongs to Warner Bros (I think) and a bunch of other people/companies. But, unfortunately, none of them are me.**

"_I don't get a 'goodbye'? Everyone gets a goodbye, but me? What do I have to do to get a goodbye? Be best friends with you? Go out with you? Have a baby with you? Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute – I did all those things!"  
_"_Ross…"  
_"_You know what, after all we've been through, I can't believe this is how you want to leave things between us."  
__The door slammed behind him as he left…_

"_You really think I didn't say goodbye to you because I don't care?"  
_"_That's what it seemed like."  
_"_I cannot believe that after ten years you do not know one thing about me!"  
_"_Fine. Then why didn't you say something?"  
_"_Because it is too damn hard, Ross! I can't even begin to explain to you how much I am going to miss you. When I think about not seeing you every day, it makes me not want to go. Okay? So if you think that I didn't say goodbye to you because you don't mean as much to me as everybody else – you're wrong. It's because you mean more to me. So there, all right! There's your 'goodbye'!"  
_"_Rach-"  
_"_What?"  
_"_You can't… you can't-!"  
_"_What?"_

They kissed. He kissed her with everything he had, trying – desperately trying – to convey all of the complex, amazing things that he felt for her, just through this one, final kiss. She gasped in surprise, shocked at the sudden intensity, the sudden passion coming from him. Never before had he laid his feelings out to her like this, so raw and so powerful. The least she could do was to kiss him back, gathering the memories of the brief flashes of eye-contact between them, the way his hand would casually brush against hers as they stood side by side, the friendly hugs where he had held her far too hard for far too long, and releasing every emotion that had tingled through her body in those times.

Neither of them held anything back, because they both knew how much this kiss mattered. This was _it_. They had finally reached the moment that their entire relationship – romantic or otherwise – was balanced on. This was the moment that their entire futures together would be decided on. It certainly wasn't the time for holding back.

Too soon, much too soon, the kiss ended. In unison, the two pulled away, suddenly aware of the reality of what was happening. Thousands of questions weighed on both minds, but the tension was too high for either one of them to speak. What was going to happen next? Would Rachel still want to go to Paris? Would she be able to leave after this? And what about these feelings, as strong and potent as if they'd just sprung into existence? What did _they_ mean?

And then, as if a cool breeze had swept through the silent room, the tension was gone.

The questions didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Because now, for the first time in what felt like forever, two people – two people so completely and utterly in love with each other – were together. It felt like all of the complications that had forced them apart had evaporated, leaving only them, free of the pressure of the expectations or opinions of others.

At that moment, they were right back at the beginning again. Back to being two people who were very, very in love, and always had been. People who had already wasted too much of their precious lives to be willing to waste anymore. It was as if they'd never been apart, because, in a way, they hadn't been. Despite the other people who had come in and out of their lives, there had always been that one, single consistency – each other. Despite the other people, they had never truly let go of one another. Feelings like theirs could never truly be forgotten, only briefly put at bay, ready to break free at any opportunity. And now that those feelings had been released, they completely overwhelmed the couple in a violent assault of emotion.

It was like they had always been Ross and Rachel, never anything but together.

As one they leant forward again, all sense and reasoning forgotten. The second kiss was different. Not as raw and as fierce as before, but better. More passionate and tender and loving. This kiss felt right – it felt like home. Like everything outside of it was insignificant. The world could have stopped spinning and it wouldn't have mattered. It wouldn't even have gone noticed by the couple, so caught up in each other.

There was no need for words. No need for asking questions or talking about the future. All that mattered was what was happening now, in the strength and heat of the moment. Everything else could wait. They deserved a proper goodbye.

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**Review?**


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